A couple of months ago we published a post that had pictures of some of the unique insects that we have seen here at our home in San Clemente, Ecuador entitled, “Bugs.” That post can be found at: https://johnandmarylivingitupinecuador.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/bugs/.
Included in that was a picture of an unusually colored bee that had spots instead of the usual stripes
and a red-winged fly
The other evening I was headed out on an errand and I noticed an unusual ant crawling across the door mat. I stepped back inside for my camera and, using the flash got some pictures of one of the most unusual ants I have ever seen.
The ant was fairly large (about three-quarters of an inch long) and ran along quite quickly. The two yellowish white “eyes” look more white in the picture and the two large distinct red dots on the back look like tail-lights.
I tried to find similar pictures on the internet and only found a fuzzy red ant named a “cow ant” that was similar.
Do any of you have any idea what kind of ant this is? We have not seen a swarm and this is the only one like that I have ever seen, so perhaps it was a “one of a kind”.
In any event – the unique insects continue to intrigue us and make life in Ecuador a daily adventure!
Life is good in Ecuador.
I don’t know what it is but I agree, it is totally cool and interesting!
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Our caretaker told me it is an arana (with the tilde over the n – aranya – spider), but it only has three sets of legs and has antennae, so it is some kind of ant. Different and amazing!
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Hola! Without a doubt your new discoveries will eventually wend their way to my “un-insect-conditioned” abode in order to swarm and annoy me further. When they do I’ll applaud their uniqueness and inquire about their lineage. Surely their millions of relatives will have informed them on their special insect-internet that I have ceased to invest in more Raid stocks and have finally chosen to end the fight and join with them. Thanks for the “heads-up” info. I’ll let you know when they arrive. (They are unique and beautiful, aren’t they?)
sigh, J..
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If I see anymore of them, I will give them your address! Hopefully these do not bite.
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I love your childlike curiosity in all that you encounter! the ant is unique for sure.. a loner, hmmm, perhaps its a bohemian artist!
i don’t have any insect reference guides, but will keep my eye out for reference sources.
z
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I could not see any pictures on my google search. It is unusual, but that is what makes life fun here – seeing and experiencing new things. [?]
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if only we will slow down and look! you are teaching others to inspect what’s nearby before dashing off in pursuit of rainbows!
z
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Thanks, but it helps that I am retired now and rarely have any pressing appointments. Life is good.
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If you get a hold of someone with a smart phone, there are some apps that let you take a picture and search the web with it. The technology grows out of the robotics community I run in; we use it to help the robot identify when it has returned to a previously seen place. Google has incorporated the technique into it’s Google Goggles feature. It might help you find your ant answers. 🙂
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What?!? I just mastered the blog system… Maybe you can see someone with the technology that you speak of who can take a picture of the ant from the blog site. Barring that, I think we will just have to wait until someone figures it out!
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Marky downloaded the app for a test drive a few weeks ago to help me find the name of an artist for a painting I liked. It is a really straightforward app; if I had a smart phone I would try it out. All you have to do is take a picture and push a button to tell it to search the web for a similar image. All of the nerd stuff happens in the background.
Personally though, I prefer nature and the awesomeness of God’s creation. Nerd stuff just pays the bills. 🙂
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Maybe Mark can scan the thing. He might be a bit busy for a bit with that new son born on your birthday! You should be Blake’s favorite uncle.
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Exciting series of fascinating bugs. I remember about 15 years ago while staying overnight in a mountain resort, bugs of unique sizes, shapes and colors flocked close to the light. Never seen one again. Merry Christmas and best wishes to you and your family.
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Thank you. It is very interesting crawling around weeding in our little garden. You never know what you will find! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.
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I don’t have a clue as to what it is but it joins the ranks of amazing insects you posted on. Very cool! Good luck with your name search. Worse comes to worse, name it yourself 😉
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Might be fun to name an insect. None of that obscure latin jargon for my bug – inasmuch as it was “discovered” in Ecuador by a US gringo a Spanglish name would seem to be in order. I will have to work on that!
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Haha! That would take a little thought, but then, it would be YOURS! 🙂
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Thought I’d mention, I also took a photo of one, in Connecticut, U.S. First time I saw one as well, and I went to the internet to see if I could figure out what it was, which led me here. Ever find out what it is?
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So far, I have no idea. I will try to find out today.
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Actually it’s a wasp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutillidae
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There you go! A wingless female wasp. I did notice in the link that they are also called cow killers or cow ants.
Thank you Rene!
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